Oregon city manager has 'awesome' resume, but is it true?

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BANKS, Ore. – The new city manager of this small town had quite a resume: He fought in two wars, held a job at the White House, earned a doctorate degree and was the executive vice president of a company – all by the age of 33.

Awesome was hired as the city manager of Banks just a matter of weeks ago.

"He's doing a great job. I was completely satisfied with his performance," John Kinsky, the mayor of Banks, told KATU News by phone.

While his resume says "Dr. Kyle Awesome" and that he has two graduate degrees, according to The Leader, there is no record he attended graduate school.

Public records say Awesome's name used to be Franklin Kyle Hayes of Virginia. According to The Leader, he said he changed his name to Awesome because he thought it was incredible he survived the Iraq and Afghanistan wars while in the Army.

He did serve in the Army and made sergeant. He also got a bachelor's degree. A photo shows him as homecoming king his senior year.

Last Friday, Awesome resigned as city manager, telling the mayor he was leaving for an unspecified job at the White House.

"I want to give him the benefit of the doubt," Kinsky said. "I'm still willing to give him the opportunity to provide evidence to the contrary of all those claims."

But Kinsky said he hasn't yet heard back from Awesome.

A KATU News reporter went to Awesome’s apartment but a neighbor said he moved a few days ago.

Awesome did pass a background check by the League of Oregon Cities. In a statement, the league apologized for "this failure to meet … our expectations for candidate reviews."